Ralegh's home at Sherborne

I visited Ralegh’s home at Sherborne in Wiltshire on a cold day in February when the extent of the original grounds could clearly be seen across the fields. Ralegh had been taken with the place when he stopped there on a journey from Devon to London, and in 1592 Queen Elizabeth obtained a 99-year lease for him of the castle and grounds from the Bishop of Salisbury. Ralegh and his wife Bess started off living in the old castle but soon set about building a new home on the site of a hunting lodge, completing it in large part by 1594. This was the place from which he set out on his first Guiana expedition in early 1595 and to which he returned that autumn, completing his Discoverie of Guiana here as well as the map of Guiana that he probably worked on in the house with Thomas Harriot. He and Bess loved this above their other homes, with Bess far preferring it to London and Ralegh writing much of his correspondence here in the years around 1600, showing that he was living here as often as he could. The house today retains many features of the original construction, including the two projecting wings, and the grounds with the lake and gardens give a good impression of its appearance at that time - when Ralegh’s domestic life was at its happiest and he confidently looked forward to continuing his search for El Dorado.